'Arrow' Season 4 Cast Member Neal McDonough Reveals What Makes Damien Darhk Different From Previous Villains

Actor Neal McDonough, pictured here at 16th annual Golden Trailer Awards on May 6, 2015, opened up about his role as the new villain on the CW's "Arrow." Photo: Getty

The members of Team Arrow are no stranger to supervillains, but Season 4 may have brought something completely different to Star City. With the introduction of the baddie Damien Darhk, actor Neal McDonough says he’s hoping to use the villain to completely change things up for the characters on “Arrow,” who he has no real attachment to anyway.

For those unfamiliar with the character, he was first mentioned by Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) as a former ally that betrayed the infamous League of Assassins. After Oliver stopped Ra’s master plan to unleash a deadly toxin on what was then called “Starling City,” Darhk came on to the scene as a new villain with superpowers, a childlike enthusiasm for evil and a new plan to destroy the Green Arrow’s home town.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times about his role as the principal villain to Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in Season 4, the former “Justified” star revealed that, in order to ensure that he was making an organic villain for the series, he hadn’t watched a single episode of “Arrow” before his debut in the premiere of the latest season.

“I made sure that I didn’t watch it. When you play the villain, it’s best to not know all the information that’s going on with all the other characters because you wouldn’t know them anyway (in the narrative), “ he said. "I don’t know what Ra’s Al Ghul is like. I don’t know how any of these characters played the villains … I want mine to be completely Neal McDonough organic. I think it’s working.”

McDonough’s unorthodox approach to keeping the character unique is already starting to yield good results. His character’s glee while committing horrible crimes has already set Darhk apart from other Arrow villains. Speaking to ComicBook, the actor revealed that he enjoys playing villains with a bit more levity in order to let out his comedic side. In addition, he enjoys that the character doesn’t seem to be motivated by power, calling his motives more of a temper tantrum.

“It's not ruling the world; it has nothing to do with ruling the world. It's, 'This is my plan, and I'm going to get it. And if I don't get it, I'm going to be really mean to you. And I'm going to enjoy it.’”

If you’ve enjoyed Damien Darhk on “Arrow,” you’re in luck. The villain is so big that he cannot be confined to just one of the DC Comics TV universe shows. According to TV Line, Darhk will also appear on both “The Flash” Season 2 and the new original series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” Season 1.

What do you think of the new “Arrow” villain? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.